1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus for spiral slicing a boneless cut of meat. More specifically, the invention relates to an accessory for use with a spiral meat slicer designed to form a continuous spiral slice on a piece of meat which has a center bone, so that the slicer can be used for a boneless cut of meat.
2. Related Art
Spiral sliced meat products are very popular, and numerous devices exist for producing a continuous spiral slice in a cut of meat having a center bone therein. Examples of such devices include Hoenselaar U.S. Pat. No. 2,470,078; Hoenselaar U.S. Pat. No. 2,599,328; Chesley U.S. Pat. No. 3,153,436; Frentzel U.S. Pat. No. 3,951,054; Schmidt et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,370; Urban U.S. Pat. No. 4,287,820; Mart U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,192; Hoegh U.S. Pat. No. 4,412,483; and Mullins, Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 4,441,411.
Typically, these devices include upper and lower pronged chucks for holding the meat while it is rotated about a longitudinal axis passing through the chucks, and a rotating blade or reciprocating knife which is indexed to move upwardly or downwardly as the meat is rotated. However, all of these devices rely on the center bone to provide a structural support for the meat. These devices cannot be used with a boneless cut of meat which has no support structure of its own.
This problem is addressed by Logan, Jr. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,821,635 and 5,030,472. Logan, Jr. discloses a meat slicing apparatus in which a meat spit is provided between the upper and lower chucks for supporting a boneless cut of meat. However, the lower chuck must be provided with a slit for receiving the bottom of the spit, while the upper chuck and the shaft supporting the upper chuck must be provided with blind holes for receiving the upper end of the spit. Thus, Logan, Jr.'s spit can only be used in meat slicing apparatus having the appropriately adapted upper and lower chucks, and cannot be used with other meat slicing apparatus. Further, other than the upper and lower chucks at the upper and lower ends of the meat, there is no mechanism for the transmission of torque for rotation of the meat about its rotational axis. It is the solution of these and other problems to which the present invention is directed.